The word "burrito" means what in Spanish?

The word “burrito” means “little donkey” in Spanish. It is the diminutive form of burro, meaning “donkey.”

The word was applied to a Mexican food because of several proposed associations with donkeys. A rolled tortilla may resemble a donkey’s ear or a bundled pack carried by a donkey. Another explanation compares the many ingredients packed inside a burrito with the heavy loads donkeys traditionally carried.

The exact origin of the food’s name is not certain. A popular story links it to Juan Méndez, a food seller in Ciudad Juárez during the Mexican Revolution who supposedly wrapped tacos in large flour tortillas and transported them by donkey. However, the term appears in Mexican-language sources before that story: the 1895 Diccionario de Mejicanismos recorded burrito as a regional term.

A common mix-up is assuming that the word means “wrap” or “sandwich.” Those describe the food’s form, not the Spanish meaning of its name. In some Mexican regions, burrito has also historically referred to a type of taco or filled tortilla.